I do not go back and find your posts because you negated true efforts at any conversation between us in the past.

Let's leave it simple, Dan.... when you attribute comments to me and can't back them up (as has happened in the past and you've simply stopped posting until the coast was clear), you don't lay the blame on me with some malarkey about "negating true efforts". I've asked you very simple questions, etc., in the past that you simply dropped... i.e., the breakdown in communications has often seemed to come when you're asked direct questions about how something works, in order to see what you really know/understand. My asking questions to you is one thing; you posting unsupported and incorrect attributions while using my name is something quite different. It seems other people remember clearly that this problem of you stating what I say or believe is not a new one, so I don't feel like prolonging the discussion any further.

Quote:

Aiki You ...are telling me...what aiki is in the traditional Japanese sense? That's interesting.
Define it____________________.

I'd forgotten how special you are. Sorry. What I have done in the past three or four times is post a good general definition of "Aiki" from Inaba Minoru:

Quote:

However, even if you grasp timing, if you don't focus your power or energy you cannot do anything. In the human body the area to focus power is the lower abdomen (kafuku tanden).

Power focused here is defensive power; power going out is offensive power.

How can you put forth offensive power? The first thing you have to do is to focus the power in your center. Offensive power will naturally flow if you focus your power in the center. That is forceful power (iryoku). It is a condition of focused energy that becomes center energy. In budo, people use the terms "bui" or "iryoku", don't they? Most important in martial arts is "iwoharu," showing this powerfully focused energy. It's not good to pretend that you have energy (karaibari). Try to use the energy in the lower abdomen. You can call this energy focused "ki" energy. If you don't have center energy, you are bluffing. Really, you have to develop this energy. The energy will flow naturally if you can focus it in the lower abdomen. If you understand this point, you will understand how to develop your body and mind and how you should train.

If you forget this essential point, you'll think only about winning, and you won't have the power to keep centered. This power won't be released and you will be destroyed.

You do exercises to straighten up your back muscles and relax your shoulders. Drop your focus to your lower abdomen. If you do that, you'll find your center point and you will produce center energy. If your center is not developed, you won't have ki energy available to project through your fingers.

If you take excess energy from the upper body and train the lower body as in sumo wrestling, and if you train the energy of the lower abdomen, you will develop your center energy. You use that power wherever necessary.

Even though you focus the energy in your lower abdomen, you will not be able to move the energy to the area where you need it right away. You have to think about how you are going to move it. You have to think about two things, gathering and filling up the power, and then moving the power to where the opponent will attack. Also if you have a weapon, you have to project energy through the weapon. If you understand this point, you'll know how to train and what you need to develop. At the same moment you meet your opponent, you focus on your abdomen (hara) and project your ki where you need it. The result will be that you will shut down your opponent's power. I understand that as the power of "aiki."

Quote:

I'll bet good money that you can't.

I just posted that interview again so there you go. In terms of you paying money that's owed, you don't have a good reputation for paying up, so I won't add to your burden.

Quote:

Not that I am being adversarial, that's not it at all. It's just that neither you- nor anyone else- is ever going to get people in the traditional arts --particularly in DR- to agree on what aiki is.

Inaba's definition is good enough and follows the general *traditional* meaning, including when the same phenomenon is called "Hua Jin" by Chinese.

Quote:

This is too much verbiage. It's water under the bridge, I brought it up because too many times you go after people like you did here, for bringing up DR in conjunction with Ueshiba, all while you yourself continually bring up these "Common Asian elements," and possible, yet still imaginary, and unprovable "additives" from other sources. What's good for the goose is good for the Gander, Mike. You know little about his training in DR Aiki, and outside of that, nothing at all that is provable. All you offer is speculation.
I would suggest you try to "actually" remain open (perhaps to the idea that he got what he got inside of DR and chose to use it in a different way) instead of just paying lip service to the idea of remaining truly open. Or at least try to be a little more circumspect in your comments to others when you yourself have, and are, doing so much arguing…all from unsupported speculation. Then we won't have to keep going down this old and well traveled road.

Why not just take the clue that the repeated diminishment of Ueshiba and the selling of Takeda is unnecessary, particularly in light of the regularity you and your followers bring it up? Enough said? Why not just make technical points based on your own understanding and leave statements about other people out of the discussions? And of course, don't feel that I am in any way suggesting that you or your followers quit talking about you yourself; that is, of course, up to you guys.